Only the specific files that are included in the mod are changed, and because the vanilla game files are always in the game data, the save has files to retrieve if/when the new texture is removed. Texture replacements, for example, simply replace a texture file that is already in the game with a new or altered one.
Texture packs, armor or weapon recolors, some sound mods will usually fall into this category. In general, these mods are ‘replacer’ mods, ones that replace things from the vanilla game without adding or removing any objects. There are indeed some mods that are completely safe to install and uninstall from your game at any time. To explain why, I’m going to delve a little bit into what happens when you start using certain mods, and how your save becomes dependent on them. Now, if you’ve got some weird glitches happening in your game, and you want to try cleaning your save to get rid of them, in most cases the method I’ve outlined above doesn’t actually do anything. But there is no ‘Heavy Skyrim Modding for Beginner’s’ rule book. There is a ton of good info out there if you know where, and even when to look for it. Part of the reason I started this blog was that it was difficult for me to find loads of information on a heavy modding set up, and proper modding in general, all in one place. This is where I get frustrated at the lack of proper information in regards to Skyrim modding, especially when you mod the game heavily. Pretty easy right? Doesn’t really seem like something that could be potentially harmful, and I bet a lot of people may use this every time they uninstall or even install mods as part of their ‘best practices’ in modding. Most of the time when people talk about doing a clean save, they mean a relatively quick and simple process that more or less looks something like this:Īnd if you are putting the mod back in for whatever reason, you would then quit the game, reinstall said mod(s), and load up the ‘clean’ save. Today I want to clarify: It isn’t any of those things. But what does that mean? I get the feeling that a lot of people think that the process of cleaning a save is a foolproof and guaranteed way to clean up stuff from your save when weird things start to happen, and it’s definitely a safe step in the overall troubleshooting process. If you’ve experienced any kind of crazy problems with mods, and then tried searching for some solutions to those problems, you’ve probably heard of something people call ‘clean saving’.